What makes us want to wear…

bySophieonMay 21, 2013

What will be the best look in shirts this summer? Will your boyfriend/husband be prepared? Where will he find quality, fashionable spring and summer clothes? And what will you wear when you’re out with him?

Well, it will certainly be provided by the leader in shirt design for men worldwide, the American firm Brooks Brothers, founded in 1818. Although they offer a women’s line and a host of accessories and suits, it is still the men’s dress shirt that forms the backbone of their collection. Some purists would say that the dress shirt is the only type denoted by the word “shirt”, but most people today would be more liberal in their usage. Sport shirts from Brooks Brothers offer flashier plaids and checks.

Thank goodness… fashion for girls is not so restrictive. Ladies don’t have to wear “tent shirts” or neckties or the like. Women’s fashion may imitate men’s fashion for a purpose, occasionally, as when it’s necessary to establish one’s credibility in the “Power Workplace”.

So, what’s with it this year for girls? Well, to begin with, international styles are cool. As the world becomes a smaller place, as every corner of the globe comes in touch with every other corner, styles from all around the world take pride of place as the height of chic. No fashion moguls need to decree it – it’s simply a matter of osmosis.

We see people in other parts of the world wearing cool things, and we want to wear them ourselves. Fortunately, since women are not bound by restrictive dress codes in the workplace, at least not as much as men, they have the freedom to sample and wear some of these exciting international styles.

Beyond that, geometric designs seem to be especially fascinating to designers this year, along with a few floral motifs. But, you may really wear whatever you want to.

Why is fashion so endlessly exciting to us? As a species, we tend to follow what the alpha individuals in our “bands” do, so naturally we want to wear what the trendsetters and the stars are wearing, and consequently, what everybody else is wearing. But it’s more and more possible to strike out on your own and be an individual.

But, if your fashion impulses run toward imitating the stars, have a look at any celebrity-inspired fashion blog to see what she, or he, is wearing. Then, you’ll be able to recreate that look, given what’s available in your local stores, or what you can access through the internet.

Fashion is indeed a mystery, embedded deep in our genetic behavioral codes, evolved through millennia of Darwinian change. What makes us want to wear this or that? Mostly what the “alphas” wear, the people we identify as fashion icons. Cultural change is possible, but only against the genetic imperative of “follow the leader”.

photos via sassisam, style, wmagazine

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